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DUTCH WILDLIFE HEALTH CENTRE (DWHC)

J. Rijks, DWHC, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Health and welfare of wild and feral animals (further referred to as wildlife health) are important factors in population dynamics of wildlife and nature management in the Netherlands. Many species of wild animals occur both in built-up areas as well as natural areas. A better understanding and improved monitoring of the health of wildlife is important for several reasons, including :

• threat of decline or extinction of wildlife species,
• disease as an indication of environmental degradation,
• disease transmission between humans and wildlife,
• disease transmission between domestic animals and wildlife,
• recognition of emerging diseases,
• ethical considerations,
• introduction of pathogens through nature management decisions as linking habitats, translocations, reintroductions.

Different institutes in the Netherlands deal with aspects of wildlife health. However, there is no central point for questions or problems related to wildlife health, research and monitoring activities could benefit from more coordination, and not all areas of wildlife health are covered. Therefore, the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre (DWHC) was created in April 2002, partly on recommendation of the Dutch Society for Wildlife Health. The mission of the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre is to optimize response to wildlife health issues, by improvement of monitoring, research and education on wildlife health in the Netherlands, in relation to interaction with humans and domestic animals, nature conservation and animal welfare. To achieve this, the expertise of different disciplines is required (e.g. ecology, pathology, toxicology).

Start-up activities of the DWHC include :

• to meet potentially interested parties and discuss the possibility of their contribution to and their expectations of the Centre.
• to make an inventory of wildlife health research carried out in the Netherlands in the past and at present.
• to determine to which extent veterinarians, after their studies, will be able to answer current questions brought up by clients/public about wildlife health cases/issues.

You can retrieve the original poster here! (421 kB)

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